SEC Ready to Poach from Hedge Fund Jobs

Bloomberg reports that Bruce Karpati and Robert Kaplan, co-chiefs of a Securities and Exchange Commission task force targeting hedge funds, buyout firms and mutual funds, are looking for professionals with direct experience in hedge fund trading and operations to beef up their investigative teams.

The SEC placed help-wanted ads last month and is actively working with the recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International to find experts.

The SEC is seeking to improve oversight of the $14 trillion hedge fund industry after embarrassments such as Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The thinking is that these hedge fund insiders will be able to help SEC attorneys better understand the industry. They want to chase after various forms of misconduct such as insider trading like the Raj Rajaratnam case, corporate bribery, conflicts of interest and selective disclosure.

The government jobs pay from $198,333 to $210,232 a year according to the Bloomberg story. It’s a fraction of what a hedge fund pro could earn in a typical “2 and 20” compensation arrangement. But the positions may appeal to someone at the end of their career looking to do some public service, or someone in mid-career looking for an ethical “stamp of honor” on their resumes, according to George Davis, a managing director at the recruitment firm Egon Zehnder International in Boston.

I would have thought of joining public service, had I made enough money. I am sure that it is a very interesting offer for those who have earned considerable wealth or for those who are really looking for a safer job opportunity and are willing to compromise with the typical handsome compensation package that hedge funds offer.